USA v. Fernando Gonzales-Vergara, No. 10-10143 (9th Cir. 2011)
Annotate this Case
Download PDF
FILED MAR 24 2011 NOT FOR PUBLICATION UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS MOLLY C. DWYER, CLERK U .S. C O U R T OF APPE ALS FOR THE NINTH CIRCUIT UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff - Appellee, No. 10-10143 D.C. No. 4:08-cr-00901-SBA-1 v. MEMORANDUM * FERNANDO GONZALES-VERGARA, Defendant - Appellant. Appeal from the United States District Court for the Northern District of California Saundra B. Armstrong, District Judge, Presiding Argued and Submitted March 14, 2011 San Francisco, California Before: WALLACE, NOONAN, and CLIFTON, Circuit Judges. Fernando Gonzales-Vergara ( Gonzales ) appeals from his jury conviction for being a deported alien found in the United States in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1326(a). We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291, and we affirm. * This disposition is not appropriate for publication and is not precedent except as provided by 9th Cir. R. 36-3. Gonzales argues first that the district court erred in denying his motion for judgment of acquittal challenging the sufficiency of the evidence of his August 12, 2003 removal. This court reviews de novo the district court s denial of a motion for acquittal based on insufficiency of the evidence. United States v. Gonzalez, 528 F.3d 1207, 1211 (9th Cir. 2008). We affirm the district court s ruling because, viewing the evidence in the light most favorable to the prosecution, a rational trier of fact could have found that Gonzales was deported on August 12, 2003 beyond a reasonable doubt. See id. We reject Gonzales claim that he was denied his right to effective assistance of counsel because he cannot show prejudice. See Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668, 687 (1984). We review Gonzales remaining claims for plain error. See United States v. Marcus, 130 S. Ct. 2159, 2164 (2010). Even assuming, without deciding, that error occurred, Gonzales cannot establish that his substantial rights were affected because there is no reasonable probability that the error affected the outcome of the trial. See id. The evidence of Gonzales 2003 removal was sufficiently compelling that he would have been convicted in spite of any errors. AFFIRMED. 2
Some case metadata and case summaries were written with the help of AI, which can produce inaccuracies. You should read the full case before relying on it for legal research purposes.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
